Waterloo

in 1974 Abba won the Eurovision song contest with the song Waterloo. The opening line goes thusly:

My my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender.

As we all know Napoleon did not surrender at the Battle of Waterloo so this is a lie. I propose that Abba's entry should be retrospectively withdrawn from the competition and any Abba related movies deleted.

OK he didn't " surrender" - but legged it from the Battlefield , which in …OK he didn't " surrender" - but legged it from the Battlefield , which in those days was the same thing .

He actually surrendered 25 days after the battle in a letter to George IV who was the prince regent at the time. He would have been unable to do so if he'd surrendered at the battle but as it was he fled instead.

2nd Dec 2017

"At" is the key word in this song, battle was in June, he had surrender in July. So it was "at" the time of the "Battle of Waterloo".

"At" is the key word in this song, battle was in June, he had surrender in …"At" is the key word in this song, battle was in June, he had surrender in July. So it was "at" the time of the "Battle of Waterloo".

OK he didn't " surrender" - but legged it from the Battlefield , which in …OK he didn't " surrender" - but legged it from the Battlefield , which in those days was the same thing .

This is a fair point as the word s derived from late Middle English surrendren, Anglo-French surrender, Old French surrendre - to give up. I cannot confirm whether or not it still had this meaning 350 or so years later but I'm happy to concede the point on goodwill.

However the lyrics clearly say at Waterloo and the battle wasn't fought at Waterloo, but rather the villages of Braine-l’Alleud and Plancenoit along the Mont Saint Jean Ridge. Does anyone know if the word at has changed meaning over the last 200 or so years?

Edited by: "bryanhaines399" 2nd Dec 2017

2nd Dec 2017

Yes, apparently the original use of the word 'at', was to describe a form of head wear and had the letter 'h' added some years later so as not to be confused with any latter day ABBA songs.

Yes, apparently the original use of the word 'at', was to describe a form …Yes, apparently the original use of the word 'at', was to describe a form of head wear and had the letter 'h' added some years later so as not to be confused with any latter day ABBA songs.

Aren't you thinking of the h(ead) a(nd) t(ache) warmer made popular during the French march on Moscow?

I read that Battle of (At) Waterloo was in June, Napoleon wrote the surrender letter in July. So a song lyric could simply say At Waterloo which could mean at a physical location as well as at the time of an event (or simply at an event which is Waterloo); whose meaning then joins to "Oh yeah, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way". An interpretation may be that one's destiny is the outcome of an earlier cause (at an event). Whence it is July's outcome was the cause of June's event.

Edited by: "splender" 3rd Dec 2017

3rd Dec 2017

in 1974 Abba won the Eurovision song contest with the song Waterloo

Thanks a lot for spoiling the result for the rest of use ‌ Next time, please use a spoiler alert. God dman it.

3rd Dec 2017

Prince sang "This is what it sounds like when doves cry”Doves don't cry they only coo.

in 1974 Abba won the Eurovision song contest with the song WaterlooThanks … in 1974 Abba won the Eurovision song contest with the song WaterlooThanks a lot for spoiling the result for the rest of use ‌ Next time, please use a spoiler alert. God dman it.